'The Dickensian angle'... Organizing against the cuts in Great Britain unleashes creativity in video, agitation, humor
As what is expected to be the largest protest in the recent history of the United Kingdom (since the March 2003 protests against the war), organizers in the UK have been utilizing all new media, with an emphasis on the Web and on You Tube videos. The organizers of the March 26 protests against the cuts held, among other activities, a video contest, and awarded the top prize to a satiric video depicting a Dickensian version of the current approach of the British government to the austerity plan being forced on the country by the government.
The URL for the video for those who cannot access the hotlink above is:
http://marchforthealternative.org.uk/
One web connection for the British mobilizations is:
The marches in London promise to be both a history lesson and a bit noisey. One group — "Women marching against the cuts" — has suggested that women wear suffragette sashes and bring pots and pans to help enliven staid London Saturday. According to their posting:
WOMEN MARCHING AGAINST THE CUTS (Posted in March logistics on March 22, 2011, Bring your banners, pots and pans, and wear suffragette colours!
As well of the tens of thousands of women who will be marching with their unions on Saturday, there will also be lots of women’s groups and organisations and individual women coming along to make their voices heard and to highlight the unfair and disproportionate impact that the government’s cuts are having on women.
From cuts to child benefit and tax credits, to cuts to Sure Start children’s centres, to cuts to sexual and reproductive health services, to cuts to women’s jobs, the bottom line is that the cuts are having a disastrous and deeply unfair effect on women and families.
Many unions will bring their women’s committee banners and some unions have produced t-shirts and sashes for women members on the march.
Women Against the Cuts, the Fawcett Society, Million Women Rise, Southall Black Sisters, London Feminist Network, Eaves and Women Against Fundamentalism will be leading a large women’s contingent on the march, and will be joined by Labour women MPs, including Harriet Harman. They will be convening at 10am outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, WC2A 2LL, and departing at 10.30am.
For more details visit the Women Against the Cuts website.
Whether marching with their union, with friends and family or with a women’s organisation, women are being encouraged to wear suffragette colours (green and purple). Women Against the Cuts are also asking women to bring pots and pans for a very noisy protest!
